Page 24 of Bidding on a Second Chance
“Ryan? My brother?” They had to be thinking of different people.HerRyan had quit the team when he’d started running with a different, rougher group of kids. “Ryan Wells.”
He laughed good-naturedly. “I know.”
Her mind sputtered through possibilities. “By then, you would’ve been in college.”
“I’d always liked Coach Rosenthal, so I commuted back to work part-time as his assistant coach for the Trailblazers Ryan’s senior year. We had a pretty good run, making it to state. Can’t help but wonder if the ‘Blazers would’ve won with Ryan’s help. He wasn’t the tallest guy, but he had a lot of natural talent. Like Bryce over there.”
“I thought Ryan quit.”
Kent shook his head. “One too many violations of the player’s code of conduct. Coach encouraged him to come along with the rest of the team, show his support, but he was angry. Not just about the team. Mad at the world, I guess, since your parents …” Kent cleared his throat. “After he got benched, we didn’t see him again. Not at practice or games, anyway.”
She’d remembered arguments between Ryan and her grandparents but only now began to understand how their hearts must’ve broken as he lost opportunities. Sort of like she worried more and more about Bryce. What if she couldn’t keep history from repeating itself?
Graham blew a whistle and told the boys they could pack up, ending practice. One of the kids stopped by him, and from their gestures, she guessed Graham was giving him extra advice. Meanwhile, Piper watched through tears as Bryce plodded toward the locker room.
He could not go in the same direction as Ryan. Not on her watch.
* * *
Graham watched Piper pop up from the sidelines and start across the gym at a gait that looked suspiciously like a march, despite the scooter. She was on a mission. Had she heard about the ditch and managed to turn it into a personal affront?
He forced his focus back to the athlete in front of him and gave him one more tip before the boy turned toward the step-swish noise of Piper coming in hot.
“See you, Coach Graham. Thanks.” He jogged off to join his friends.
Kent lingered where Piper had left him, grinning like a fool.
Piper’s expression was anything but happy, though. She looked … stricken. “I don’t want Bryce to end up in jail.”
“Neither do I.” He smiled, hoping to put her at ease. “But he’s pretty young for that. Juvie, maybe …”
The attempt at humor didn’t reach her. “You should come to Thanksgiving at my grandparents’ house with us.”
A part of him—a part he distinctly remembered locking away not long ago—lunged at the chance. He tightened his grip on the whistle he used during practice. “How is that connected?”
“He’s … He’s on a path, and maybe you can help redirect him.”
Graham rubbed his hand through his hair. “I thought he hated me.”
“He’d hate jail more.”
Graham wasn’t sure about that, but the determination on Piper’s face told him not to argue. She wanted his help, but did he—and not only the self-destructive part he’d put behind bars—want to get more involved? “I’ll think about it.”
ChapterSixteen
Graham had disassembled the bed into manageable pieces when he’d picked it up in Junction Springs. Because of his little foray into the ditch, he’d run out of time and hadn’t been able to drop it off at the store before practice and work, but the day before Thanksgiving, he slid the headboard from the bed of his truck.
Piper held the door for him as he angled into Second Chances. “Oh. They didn’t say online there was damage like this.”
His gut tightened. The headboard had been undamaged when he’d picked it up. Something must’ve broken when he’d slid. He propped the piece against a wall in the back room.
Sure enough. A one-by-three-inch piece of the overlay had torn right off. He ran his thumb over it. Piper was kind to think the problem had originated with the previous owner when the exposed wood looked fresh. “I can patch it up. We’re painting it anyway.”
“He still should’ve told us. This will mean more work.”
He might not want her to know about the ditch, but he also didn’t want her calling the guy for a partial refund. He took a step back and found himself shoulder-to-shoulder with her. He cleared his throat. “I didn’t see this when I picked it up, so it happened in the truck. Probably when I slid into a ditch.”
“When you what?”
